Who are best at being social on Social Media?
One of the latest research says that “Women Are Best at
Being Social On Social Media”
Results of extensive study reveals gender divide in use
of social media -- and how celebrities exploit social media to connect with
their fans.
Young women are leaders of change in styles of
storytelling in the new digital economy, a social media expert has found.
Dr Ruth Page, of the Department of English, University of
Leicester, has completed an extensive study of the use of social media --
including how celebrities harness Twitter as a new stage to perform on.
She found that there is a consistent difference in how
women and men express themselves in social media sites such as Facebook and
blogs, with women tending to disclose more about emotional topics and write
about these in a more expressive way, for example with more emoticons, kisses
and unconventional typography.
As well as identifying a clear gender divide in the way
men and women express themselves using social media, the study documents the
ways in which social media is being used to reinforce other kinds of
hierarchies, such as the status that celebrity figures accrue and maintain
through sites like YouTube and Twitter.
Dr Page, whose book Stories and Social Media is being
published by Routledge, said: "Stories and Social Media is a landmark
survey and critique of personal storytelling as it is being reworked online at
the start of the 21st century. It highlights how social media is influencing
personal storytelling and how language is changing as a result of the use of
sites such as Facebook."
"The study shows an increasing trend for using
'expressive language' in Facebook (for example, for emphasis or to project
friendliness), which is being led by young women aged between 19 and 25 years.
Between 2008 and 2010, for example, the style used by young women was later
picked up by other women, especially those over 40 years old, and by teenage
boys; but not by men.
"The role of young women as leaders of the changes
in the styles of storytelling in social media is significant as it is at odds
with other statistics that show that they are under-represented as the
developers of social media sites and software."
In terms of celebrity use of social media, Dr Page
concludes that "Twitter gives celebrities another stage to perform on, one
in which they can tell stories which create an illusion of interaction and intimacy."
An in-depth look into the Twitter habits of celebrities
revealed some were much more engaging than others. Jamie Oliver is presented as
a good example of a celebrity who has harnessed the power of social media to
connect with this audience by telling his story. Dr Page recalls; "At the
time I was looking at Twitter for this book, he was promoting his Food
Revolution tour in the US. Many tweets are telling the Followers to join the
campaign, watch a programme, try a recipe etc. (more or less selling his
products) but all of that is countered by his efforts to engage with the
followers by writing back to them, telling snippets of his family life and so
on."
The study of social media is a particularly revealing way
to get an insight into people's approach to storytelling as the emphasis is on
the written word as the primary form of communication. As a result, the
linguistic choices that people make become even more important, and amplify the
sense of social connection with others -- what is known in linguistic terms as
our sense of interpersonal closeness with or distance from others. Dr Page
argues: "Although there is a lot of talk about how digital technologies
will lead to the end of the book, social media shows us that storytelling
remains a key way of how we make sense of each other."
Image Source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1205807
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